Exploring an Unexpected DNA Test Result
Post date: Jan 23, 2016 11:18:25 PM
I have reposted the following article from The Root because I had received a very similar inquiry just last week.
While I agree with the article in that it is important to understand "when you’re reading census records, that relationships may not be entirely specific", it is also important to understand that many of the details in the census can be incorrect. Dates and places of birth for an individual can be change from one enumeration to another, and even the "color or race" can vary. A place of birth may indicate "South Carolina" in one census year, while it may indicate "Mississippi" for that same individual in either the next or previous census. A person can be identified as having been "black" in one census, and in another census for the same individual, they may be identified as having been "mulatto". Even given names can change from one census year to another.
The article suggested that perhaps Jane, the wife of Lewis GREEN, had been the daughter of Hannah, and that Jake had been Hannah's grandson.
"Based on the ages of the individuals, Hannah was actually likely Jake’s grandmother, since she would have been 53 years old when Jake was born.
We noted this possibility when looking at the household directly next door, that of Lewis Green, whose wife, Jane, said that both of her parents were born in South Carolina. Based on this, it seemed possible that Hannah Simmons was actually the mother of Jane Green."
One of the problems with this statement by the researcher is that Jane had not, identified both of her parents as having been born in South Carolina. If one were to read the census, Jane clearly identified that her father had been born in South Carolina, but that her mother had been born in Mississippi. How did the researcher miss this? The possibility that Jane's mother had actually been born in Mississippi may become useful.
Looking for Jane in the 1880 census, we find that this time, she had identified that both of her parents had been born in Mississippi. Neither parent had been identified as having been born in South Carolina. Checking other census years (as well as other documents) is vital in supporting or refuting the assumptions that are being made.
The inaccuracies contained in the census data can make it difficult to locate an individual in the census, but keeping all of this in mind can be very helpful.
The researchers involved in the article had "difficulty locating any other records (other than the 1900 US Federal Census) for Hannah Simmons, we searched for a Jane Simmons in the 1870 census". This appears to be where the researcher(s) either skipped a step in their research, or the description of the research skipped an important step.
The details of the inquiry ("I Am Black but Discovered I Have Jewish DNA. Where Is It From?") posed by "Schlese", mentions a son of Hannah SIMMONS by the name of "Ransom SIMMONS". Rather than searching for Jane SIMMONS, whom the researchers had only hypothesised might be Hannah's daughter, their time and efforts might have been better spent looking for a known relative of Hannah's; her son, Ransom.
In doing so, we can find a Jackson SIMMONS and his wife, Hannah, both in Jasper County, Mississippi in 1870. They are living with their 5 children, Kate (who would be the age of Jane), Margaret, Ransom, George, and Eliza. In this census, all of the children of Jackson and Hannah had been identified as having been "black", however, in tracking down these children in subsequent census years, we find that they are also occasionally identified as having been "mulatto".
I believe that I have also located Hannah in the 1880 US Federal Census in Jasper County, Mississippi.
It seems that the researchers involved in the article may have missed quite a bit, and it took me longer to write this article than it did to find the records mentioned within it.
Does all of this mean that we have now found where Schlese's Ashkenazi ancestry came from? No, not conclusively. It is important to keep in mind that the Ashkenazi ancestry could have come from another branch of Schlese's family tree. The article suggests contacting DNA matches who also have European or Ashkenazi ancestry, and relying on what is frequently a limited understanding of their own family histories, or worse, what is also frequently a false family history based on errors made in their research. You can read more about this at: http://www.ancestorsandcousins.com/Posts/youcannotbelieveeverythingthatyouread, and http://www.ancestorsandcousins.com/Posts/donotblindlyaccept.
A more reliable approach could include testing other family members (aunts/uncles and cousins) to see which branch (at least which grandparent) is likely to have contributed the Ashkenazi ethnicity. Once the appropriate branch is identified, you can then work to isolate further, which of that grandparent's branches likely contributed the Ashkenazi ethnicity.
